Ottoman Empire

The Ottoman Empire (/ˈɒtəmən/; Ottoman Turkish: ‫دولت عليه عثمانيه‬ Devlet-i ʿAlīye-i ʿOsmānīye,

literally "The Sublime Ottoman State"; Modern Turkish: Osmanlı İmparatorluğu or Osmanlı
Devleti; French: Empire ottoman)[note 5][14] was a state[note 6] that controlled much of Southeastern
Europe, Western Asia, and Northern Africa between the 14th and early 20th centuries. It was
founded at the end of the 13th century in northwestern Anatolia in the town of Söğüt (modern-
day Bilecik Province) by the Turkoman[15][16] tribal leader Osman I.[17] Although initially the dynasty was
of Turkic origin, it was Persianised in terms of language, culture, literature and habits.[18][19][20][21] After
1354, the Ottomans crossed into Europe and with the conquest of the Balkans, the
Ottoman beylik was transformed into a transcontinental empire. The Ottomans ended the Byzantine
Empire with the 1453 conquest of Constantinople by Mehmed the Conqueror.[22]
During the 16th and 17th centuries, at the height of its power, under the reign of Suleiman the
Magnificent, the Ottoman Empire was a multinational, multilingual empire controlling most
of Southeastern Europe, Central Europe, Western Asia, parts of Eastern Europe,
the Caucasus, Northern Africa, and the Horn of Africa.[23] At the beginning of the 17th century, the
empire contained 32 provinces and numerous vassal states. Some of these were later absorbed into
the Ottoman Empire, while others were granted various types of autonomy over the course of
centuries.[note 7]
With Constantinople (modern-day Istanbul) as its capital and control of lands around
the Mediterranean Basin, the Ottoman Empire was at the centre of interactions between
the Eastern and Western worlds for six centuries. While the empire was once thought to have
entered a period of decline following the death of Suleiman the Magnificent, this view is no longer
supported by the majority of academic historians.[24] The empire continued to maintain a flexible and
strong economy, society and military throughout the 17th and for much of the 18th century.
[25]
 However, during a long period of peace from 1740 to 1768, the Ottoman military system fell
behind that of their European rivals, the Habsburg and Russian empires.[26] The Ottomans
consequently suffered severe military defeats in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, which
prompted them to initiate a comprehensive process of reform and modernisation known as
the Tanzimat. Thus, over the course of the 19th century, the Ottoman state became vastly more
powerful and organised, despite suffering further territorial losses, especially in the Balkans, where a
number of new states emerged.[27]
With the 1913 coup d'état bringing the nationalistic and radical Committee of Union and Progress to
power, the empire allied itself with Germany hoping to escape from the diplomatic isolation which
had contributed to its recent territorial losses, and thus joined World War I on the side of the Central
Powers.[28] While the Empire was able to largely hold its own during the conflict, it was struggling with
internal dissent, especially with the Arab Revolt in its Arabian holdings. During this
time, genocide was committed by the Ottoman government against the Armenians, Assyrians,
and Greeks.[29]
The Empire's defeat and the occupation of part of its territory by the Allied Powers in the aftermath of
World War I resulted in its partitioning and the loss of its Middle Eastern territories, which
were divided between the United Kingdom and France. The successful Turkish War of
Independence led by Mustafa Kemal Atatürk against the occupying Allies led to the emergence of
the Republic of Turkey in the Anatolian heartland and the abolition of the Ottoman monarchy.[30]